Mia
Rolling over, I place my hand on my head, hoping that it will stop pounding soon. I don't know what the fuck he gave me, but it's killing my head. Or maybe it's just the fact that I'm hand cuffed to the bed and haven't eaten or drunk anything for at least a day. Especially since I turned down food the last time I saw him.
Not that it’s any different than the life I had before, since I was only eating what I needed, so it's not like I had much to spare.
The click of the door has my attention pulling me toward it. Closing my eyes, I send up a little prayer, muttering "Please be someone who can uncuff me."
"Mia." Kieran's deep voice washes over me, making heat start to furl in my lowerbelly. Fuck, I can't be turned on by this asshole, no matter how attracted I am to him.
"Kieran," I snap at him, hoping he can't see how turned on I am.
He doesn't say anything, but my eyes track him the whole time as he walks over. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he looks at me so intently I'm pretty sure that he can see into my soul. Kieran doesn't say anything either, we just sit in silence, making me squirm even more. I'm not sure what is happening, but I'm sure I don't like it.
"Why do you keep staring at me?" I ask him, not being able to handle the tense silence.
“Eat,” he says, instead of answering me and pushes a plate towards me.
I shake my head at him, ignoring the gnawing feeling in my stomach. "Kieran, I don't belong here. Just let me go. I can't be in town, it’s dangerous for me," I plead.
My last words seem to get his attention because he raises one of his brows at me,waiting for me to explain. Instead, I bite down on my lip, not prepared to answer. A shiver racks my body when the nightmares of the night that my sister was killed, and my mother hauled away, enters unbidden into my head.
Mikhail, my stepsister's husband and the heir to the Bratva, threatened me, telling me that if he ever saw me again he would get rid of me. And Iknowwhat ‘get rid of me’ means. I'm not naive to the Mafia world, I just don't have any interest either. No matter what Kieran thinks.
I turn my head, hiding from the way Kieran is looking at me. I know he's dangerous, but that just adds to his appeal. There is no way I can resist that smoldering, brooding look, and hold my ground. That's how he was able to mesmerize me that first time, making me forget the whole reason I was at the auction in the first place.
He only allows the silence between us for a brief moment before he's placing hishands under my chin, forcing me to look at him. I get lost in his deep, moss green eyes, then he opens his mouth, asking me, "What do you mean it's dangerous for you to be in town?"
I close my eyes. Fuck, I'm going to have to at least spill some of my guts, so he'll leave stop asking me questions. Then just maybe he'll let me go.
Taking one last breath, I answer him, "What do you know about my family?"
"I know enough. Your mom’s in jail, one sister dead, stepfather in the hospital, and one stepsister who doesn’t seem to be doing anything worth talking about," he replies, shrugging his shoulders, like none of that is a big deal. Which I guess in his line of work he's seen worse, but honestly to me it sounds like an episode of theJerry Springershow to me.
"Do you know anything about my stepsister?"
"I didn't look too much into her, other than she worked at a bar. I've been more focused on finding you,mo bhanríon."
When he says the nicknamemo bhanríonwith a little lilt, it makes a shiver run down my spine, my nipples to pebble, and I hate how much I love it. I want to know what that means so bad, I have to bite my lip, because I refuse to ask.
Pushing any feelings of attraction away, I snap at him, "Well, if you did a little more research you would know that my stepsister is married to Mikhail. You know, the head of the Bratva. He and my mother tried to kill my step-sister."
I don't say anything else on the matter. Instead, I keep my eyes on him, watching for a reaction.
Kieran doesn’t say anything which is weird. You would think he would have lots to say about my step-sister being married to the head of Bratva, since he’s in the Mafia.I mean, don’t all of these dangerous types run together?
I watch in amazement as his whole body tenses up, jaw clenches so tight, I can hear his teeth grinding. I can tell he is processing what I just told him and wait as he fills the rest in on his own.
What else is there to say?
He doesn't need to know the damage that runs deep between me and Ella. The pain that my mother inflicted by encouraging us to pick on her, so she could relish in her pain. It wasn't until I left the city that I realized exactly how toxic our family was.
"Now will you let me go?” I ask him.
"No," he snips, turning toward me.
"What do you mean ‘no,’" I shriek.How can he not realize that if I stay here I’m putting both of us in danger?
"I mean, no. Mikhail is insignificant. What matters is you. You are my wife, and no one will scare you off," he says through gritted teeth.
